How to fix Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge that won’t charge past 81% & other power issues

Learn how to deal with your phone if it’s draining its battery way quicker than normal.

How to fix a Galaxy S7 Edge that entered a boot loop without apparent cause.

What you need to do if your water-resistant device got water-damaged.

Learn how to troubleshoot your device that charges very slowly or not at all.

Hey guys! Welcome to another episode of our Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge troubleshooting series and in this post I will address some of the power-related issues. The first problem I tackled in this article is about a unit that charges but can’t get past 81% despite the fact that the owner is using the original power adapter and wireless charger.

Continue reading to learn more about these problems and how to deal with them. If you’ve already contacted us before regarding related issues, then try to see if your concern is among the ones I cited here. You may also visit our troubleshooting page and browse through it to see if there are problems similar to yours. Feel free to use the solutions we suggested. You may also contact us if you need further assistance by completing our Android problems questionnaire.

Q: “The phone won’t charge past 81%. I have used a brand new stock Samsung fast charger and stock USB cable, and also wireless Samsung charger. I tried charging it in safe mode as well. I did not soft reset, hard reset. Please help.”

A: I’m not trying to discredit your statement but there are times when the phone just can’t get to read the battery percentage right. Issues like this are often tied to corrupt caches or even a bug. That said, that first thing I need you to do is wipe the cache partition to rule out the possibility that it’s corrupt cache issue:

Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.

Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.

When the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.

When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.

Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’

Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.

Now highlight the option ‘Yes’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.

Wait until your phone is finished wiping the cache partition. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.

The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

After wiping the cache partition, try to charge the phone again and see if it still can’t get past 81%. If the problem remained, try charging your phone while it’s off to rule out the possibility that some apps running in the background (regardless whether they’re third-party or pre-installed) are causing the problem.

Should your phone charge properly (or even fast charge) while turned off, our suspicion is confirmed but due to the fact that we really don’t have a clue as to which app is causing it, then it’s time you did the factory reset. Of course, you need to backup all your data and files before following these steps:

From the Home screen, tap the Apps icon.

Find and tap Settings and then touch Backup and reset.

Tap Factory data reset and touch Reset device.

If you have screen lock feature turned on, enter your password or PIN.

Touch Continue.

Tap Delete all to confirm your action.

On the other hand, after wiping the cache partition and your device still can’t get past 81%, I think it’s time to think about having a technician take a look at it. After all, you already tried every possible way to charge your phone to no avail and you also did some troubleshooting procedures that didn’t yield results. However, before sending the phone in for repair or checkup, you need to do the master reset:

Backup your data.

Remove your Google account.

Disengage screen lock.

Turn off your Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.

Press and then hold the Home and Volume UP keys, then press and hold the Power key.

NOTE: It doesn’t matter how long you press and hold the Home and Volume Up keys, it won’t affect the phone but by the time you press and hold the Power key, that’s when the phone starts to respond.

When the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge shows on the screen, release the Power key but continue holding the Home and Volume Up keys.

When the Android logo shows, you may release both keys and leave the phone be for about 30 to 60 seconds.

NOTE: The “Installing system update” message may show on the screen for several seconds before displaying the Android system recovery menu. This is just the first phase of the entire process.

Using the Volume Down key, navigate through the options and highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’

Once highlighted, you may press the Power key to select it.

Now highlight the option ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power button to select it.

Wait until your phone is finished doing the Master Reset. Once completed, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and press the Power key.

The phone will now reboot longer than usual.

I hope this helps.

Q: “The battery seems to drain much faster than it should. I went to bed with the battery at 74% and woke to a phone that would only turn on long enough to tell me that the battery was dead. I just downloaded the ‘Advanced Task Killer Free’ app in the hope that it would stop apps not being used and conserve battery power. I’m still figuring out how to use the ‘Advanced Task Killer.’”

A: Actually, you don’t need to use a task killer to fix this problem. All you need to do is find out what’s causing the problem and you can only do so by troubleshooting.

I agree that your phone does drain its battery way faster than normal considering it’s not used at night. The following troubleshooting steps will help you determine whether the third-party apps have something to do with it or not. However, it may take days before you can actually determine the culprit. So, here’s what I need you to do:

Step 1: Boot your phone safe mode especially when you’re about to put it down for the night. In safe mode, all third-party apps are temporarily disabled leaving pre-installed apps and services running just like when you turned it on for the first. It is important you do this because you’ll determine whether the phone drains its battery normally without those apps. This is the best way to isolate the problem and here’s how to boot it in safe mode:

Press and hold the Power key.

As soon as you can see the ‘Samsung Galaxy S7 EDGE’ on the screen, release the Power key and immediately hold the Volume Down key.

Continue holding the Volume Down button until the device finishes rebooting.

You may release it when you can see ‘Safe mode’ in the bottom left corner of the screen.

If the phone drains the battery normally or way slower than when it’s booted up in normal mode, then your third-party apps have something to do with. It could be that there are a lot of apps running in the background. That said, try to close them when not in use and turn off their notifications and syncs. There’s no way for us to pinpoint which app is draining the battery faster than others simply because we don’t know what kind of apps you installed. It’s you who will continue observing your phone until you’ll find out which one is the culprit.

However, if the phone still discharges quickly in safe mode, then it’s a different story. It might be caused by some pre-installed apps, services that keep crashing or maybe it’s a firmware issue after all.

Step 2: Try wiping the cache partition to see if it could make a difference especially if you updated your phone recently. Follow the instructions in the first problem. If the problem persists, then you have no other choice but to do the reset.

Step 3: Perform the master reset to rule out the possibility that it’s a firmware issue. This is your last resort and it’s very important you do this before sending the phone in for checkup and/or repair.

Step 4: If the reset didn’t fix the problem, then seek help from a technician. You’ve already ruled out other possibilities and the only that’s left is the possibility that it’s a hardware issue. Perhaps the battery is damaged or something.

Q: “Every time I start my phone, the screen says Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Powered by Android and then leaves that screen just to go back to it. Please help me as it will never fully turn on.”

A: That’s what you call a boot loop. It is often caused by some corrupt caches and/or data which may occur during an update process. Usually, wiping the cache partition will do the trick, however, it’s advisable you do the forced reboot as it refreshes your phone’s memory and it actually fixes minor firmware and hardware issues. Just press and hold the Volume Down and Power keys for 7 to 10 seconds and see if the phone can successfully reboot after that, if not, then try deleting the system cache. Just follow the instructions in the first problem on how to wipe the cache partition. If that failed as well, it’s time you did the master.

Q: “Samsung died last night, battery fully charged. Thanks to your site it’s alive again. This helped: First step: Force restart your Galaxy S7. I have bookmarked your site and “Liked it” on Facebook! Thanks! Best regards, Leif.”

Q: “Hi. I’m on holiday in the Maldives I took my phone in the pool to do some underwater filming that was all fine for 10 minutes let the phone dry out then charge it everything was fine slow at charging. About 4 hours later took it off charge to use it again in the pool got back to the room later let phone dry out not it has no battery life won’t charge of do any form of hard reset I have tried them all. I have had no phone use for last 4 days and I am still here for another 3 days it’s my business phone as well.”

A: Let’s get things straight here; the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is water-resistant but not waterproof. So, liquid can still find its way into it and that seems to be your case. There’s no way for us to determine the extent of the damage, so it’s better that you let a technician take a look at it. Honestly, there’s nothing we can do about it.

Q: “Nearly every time I try to charge my phone, it is either marked as slow charging (instructing me to use the original cable even though I am using the original cable), or marked as fast charging while remaining at roughly the same battery percentage or even decreasing after 30 minutes and even more. Thanks for your help.”

A: Actually, you’re the only one that can answer when did this problem start and how. For us who listen to complaints from other owners about slow charging without apparent reason, the first thing that comes to mind is water damage. There’s one way to verify that; turn off your phone and plug it in.

If the phone charges normally when it’s off, at least, you can rest assured it isn’t water damage that’s causing the problem. However, you still need to do the master reset to see if that would make a difference because of if not, you have to let a technician take a look at it.

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Disclaimer: we are not affiliated with the device manufacturers or phone carriers we mention in any way, all suggestions are based on our own experience and research, you may use our advice at your own discretion.